ER
THE EIFFEL Tower is covered in rust and in need of a complete overhaul, but the famous tourist spot was instead given a €60 million cosmetic paint job ahead of the Olympics in Paris in 2024, according to a confidential report quoted by French magazine Marianne.
The 324-meter-high tower, built by Gustave Eiffel in the late 19th century, is one of the most visited places by tourists in the world, with six million visitors every year.
However, a confidential report from an expert quoted by Marianne explained that this monument was in poor condition and full of rust.
“Simply put, if Gustave Eiffel visited this place he would have a heart attack,” the anonymous manager at the tower told Marianne.
The tower is being repainted at a cost of 60 million euros in preparation for the 2024 Olympics, the 20th time the tower has been repainted.
About 30% of the tower was supposed to be removed and then coated with two new coats of paint, but work postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the presence of lead in the old paint means only 5 percent of the Eiffel tower will be maintained.
The company that oversees the tower, Societe d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) is reluctant to close the tower in the long term because it will lose revenue from tourists. [antaranews]
